


christmasssss

by fishysama



Category: Junjou Romantica
Genre: Christmas, Gen, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 13:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13147989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishysama/pseuds/fishysama
Summary: a christmas present for arthasness (tumblr)A little fic about one Christmas at the Usami mansion (my take on junjou mix 4's flashback).





	christmasssss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [arthasness](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=arthasness).



Snow settles at the Usami household.

Christmas day has finally arrived and maids scurry through the mansion’s many hallways, setting tables and dusting shelves. A ten-foot Christmas tree towers above mounds and mounds of gifts, all wrapped in clean, metallic prints. Above a well-stoked fireplace hangs four stockings, all equally stuffed with sweets. Natsuko and Fuyuhiko sit in opposing armchairs, studying the crackling fire in silence.

Three knocks on the door. A maid opens the door quietly and chimes, “Good morning, Akihiko-kun.” To her surprise, the young boy is already awake, hunched over a notebook and writing mindlessly.

He glances up and responds, “Good morning.”

The maid tentatively takes a step into the boy’s bedroom. “Do you know what today is?” she inquires with a smile.

“Yes,” he doesn’t look up this time, just continues to write small characters.

She opens her mouth, only to close it. Akihiko was always like this on the holidays. It made her feel a bit jealous, to be so naive to the bustle of Christmas day. “Would you like to come downstairs to open gifts? Your parents are waiting.”

He flips a page, hesitates, and then closes the notebook, slipping it under his bed.

“Okay.”

The maid closes the door, leaving to wake his half-brother. Akihiko peers out the window for a moment, watching all the little snowflakes fall to the earth. His first “white Christmas” in Japan. He rests his eyes before deciding to get dressed.

 

* * *

 

Soft footsteps, cascading down from a staircase. Natsu arises from the armchair to greet her child, still remaining silent.

As soon as he reaches the bottom of the staircase, Akihiko’s mother greets him, wishing “Merry Christmas.” She leans down and adjusts the collar of his dress shirt, and smiles at him gently; disingenuously. His brother follows him down momentarily.

 

* * *

 

 

The maids arrange all of the gifts around the two boys, encouraging them to begin opening them. It was nothing special. Heaps and heaps of expensive clothing and chocolate boxes cluttered the floor beneath the Christmas tree. It didn’t really matter to Akihiko what was under the tree, it was nearly identical every year.

Akihiko didn’t quite understand the excitement that Hiroki had about this time of the year. He’d always talk about all the things he wanted with wonder and energy. There was some sort of difference between them that Akihiko couldn’t put his finger on.

Whenever he would go over to Hiroki’s house, he could feel the difference. There were all sorts of colorful, glittery ornaments decorating the tree, some with names and dates on their backs. Little pictures of him and his parents smiling adorned the mantle. It felt like _home_ there. No number of expensive paintings or statues could achieve that.

 

When Akihiko’s family began to arrive, the tension just increased. All the adults were talking to one another, but it didn’t feel like that emotion Hiroki described. “It’s like everyone’s connected,” his friend would say, “it’s sorta weird though. My family’s so close to each other that… it feels comfortable. I don’t really get it.” Sure, they were talking, but there was no bond. They were just exchanging sounds, things about business, and other things that Akihiko didn’t really understand.

He felt himself creeping away from the conversation. He takes a pen and a pad of paper from the kitchen, and he’s home again. He writes about all of the characters and the scenery of somewhere different, somewhere better. He sits against the wall of a hallway and writes down everything until the sounds of chatter are gone. Until his eyes grow weary and his fingers ache, he tells those stories through ink.

 

* * *

 

 

Akihiko left for his room, feeling the same way he felt every Christmas. Whatever that feeling was… Lonely?

“Akihiko-sama?” The head butler calls from across the hall, halfway in a closet.

The boy turns his head, “Yes?”

The butler made a motion with his hand, “Come here, I have a present for you.”

 _Present?_ Akihiko hesitantly heads towards him.

The butler closes the closet door, holding something behind his back. He squats to be eye-to-eye with Akihiko, which looked rather awkward for a man of his size and sophistication. He smiles in the charming way that butlers do, “Hold out your hands, _bocchan._ ”

The boy glances down and reached out his hands, nervous about what was to come.

Soft. The butler places a tan stuffed bear, complete with a big red ribbon around its neck, in Akihiko’s hands delicately. “I know these times are hard for you,” the butler says, “But, if you have hope, and if you persevere, everything will turn out alright.”

A small smile creeps onto Akihiko’s face, something that the butler had never seen before. “Whenever you feel sad, just give him a big hug, and you’ll feel much better.” He pats the bears head and adds, “I promise you.”

Akihiko hesitates for a moment before squeezing the bear tightly in his arms. His small face peers from over the ball of fluff. “Thank you, Tanaka-san.”

“You’re very welcome, Akihiko-sama. Sleep well.”

Akihiko goes to his bedroom with a wide grin on his face. It felt, for the first time, that these emotions were temporary; that there were better things awaiting the boy; that there would be people who would love and care for him one day. Perhaps that day wasn’t so far away? Something about that warm look in Tanaka-san’s eyes made him believe that the day had already arrived. The hope for the future, the hope of better days, maybe _that_ was what Christmas was truly about. But for now, Akihiko falls asleep with a big teddy bear by his side, peacefully.

**Author's Note:**

> [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/thanksily/) | [tumblr](https://juroguro.tumblr.com/)


End file.
